S is for Kool Aid

Oh YEAH (said like the Kool Aid Guy)...
My September project is in, with 2 hours and 15 minutes to spare. I will post more details and pictures on my blog later. For now, here are the four hanks hanging to dry in my shower. They kind of look like four hippies with toe-length hair, don't they?

"s" oh yes

This last minute entry is the Irish Hiking scarf, which is my attempt at cables. I thought it was pretty fun. October will bring felting, hopefully in a more timely manner.

No 'S' for me =[

Unfortunately, a few things came up this weekend and I wasn't able to finish my Wisp.
I have about a foot left, but I won't be able to finish tonight because of so much homework. I'll be getting my 'O' for October early though =]

September deadline is hours away

Just a reminder that this is the last day of September. This month, I'll slightly extend the deadline until 12 noon, Central Standard Time, on Monday Oct. 1st, since I know there are few people finishing up projects. Just post a picture of it by noon, and I'll give you an 'S'!


I think we have 11 'S's so far. If you should have one but don't, let me know. Here are the ones I see:

Amy C

Betty

C4G (Crow Calling Woman)
Druid Chelle

Hobbygasa

Jaye

Jennifer

Kiarapanter

Kristina

Shalanda

Tina in Wonderland (Me)

'Dyeing' for my 'S'!! LOL

Well, I waited until last night to try this, but I'm glad I did! It was so much fun! I used Knit Picks sock yarn and Kool-aid in Soarin' Strawberry Lemonade, Switchin' Secrets, and a combination of Grape, Black Cherry, and Wild Watermelon Kiwi. The first two were pretty much the colors I had intended, but I was aiming for a brown with the third color which ended up purply. You'll notice a few apparent flaws, but hey, I don't care 'cuz that's how a person learns! Plus I think it will all blend in fine when I knit this into a pair of 'Monkey' socks.

Here is a brief rundown of what I did:

Pic 1 shows the dry hank tied in two places to show me where I wanted the different colors to go.

2. Those are highball size glasses with the kool-aid and water. I used two packs of each on the pink and green, and about 4 packs trying to get the brown. I don't think I used more than half a cup of water per glass. I had the yarn soaking in a big bowl of room temperature water while I mixed the colors.

3. I laid the yarn out on three plates - one section was on each - then I stuffed the sections one by one into the dye glasses, squeezed 'em out, and put them on the plate while I did the other two. The green got laid in the drippings of the purple, hence the muddy looking smudge. Pic three shows the kool-aid soaked yarn in a big microwave-save pasta bowl, which I then put into the microwave for 2 minutes, let rest 3 minutes, nuked it 2 minutes more, let it set 3 more minutes and flipped it over, then nuked it for a final 2 minutes. I knew it was done because a coffee filter pressed against the still damp yarn didn't pick up any color. I let it cool to near room temp, then rinsed it.

4. This pic shows it hanging in my shower to drip dry. I had rolled it up in a towel first and stomped on it to get the extra water out.

5. This shows it on my ball winder!! Don't the colors look different than they did on the unwound hank!

6. This is a mini-swatch, 16 stitches wide. It will be way less stripey on a sock over 60 stitches and more varigated.

I have a hank of lace weight yarn I want to dye moss green. Anybody know how to get that with Kool-aid?? Any ideas?? Really, 'cuz I don't know!! I'm thinking of trying to mix two shades of green and maybe throw in a teabag or two. I just do not want it to turn out lemon-lime neon, but more of a mossy sage instead.

Legwarmers DONE!

Finally. Gee Im slow. But got them seamed and everything.

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Colorspun Worsted
Needles: Size 9 wooden straights

Pattern: 2x1 rib, then decreased to 1x1 rib, knitted flat then seamed.

This is the first project I cast on for knitting and only the second project Ive ever finished.

September Project Done!

I finished my first center-out square shawl, with a knitted on border. I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn in the Beach colorway for the main part and white for two stripes and the border. t was fun to knit and someday I will do another one in wool yarn. This one, I gave away to charity.
I

September Project Done!!

Gimme an S... gimme an S... Gimme an S... Goooooo, Silken!!


Peridot


Pewter


My September project was "working with beads". I think I passed, if I may say so myself, especially considering that there are over 1500 beads in this scarf!

More specs on my blog.

My October project will be: learning to knit cables without a cable. I will be trying it with this sweater (pattern in Twilley Denim Freedom booklet): and instructions in Melissa Leapman's Cables Unlimited.

Everyone else's stuff looks great! Happy end of September! ;-)

Finishing In Time!

Well, I will definitely have my Wisp completely knitted by the deadline, but I'm not sure if it will be done drying after blocking. Will that still count for September? I mean, technically all of the knitting is done. =]

I did something new for September!

I FINALLY finished Clapotis! This was try #35, and it's a gift for my husband's great-aunt. I never thought I would make a finished one, but I was very determined. I don't have pictures right now, but I'll get some this weekend after we give it to her, and post them after the weekend. Can I please get my 'S' letter - I finally finished a project!

I am sooo very happy!- an October project

I have been knitting this clapotis in a frenzy of frustated energy as I awaited my bar results. Long story short- I PASSED THE BAR!!!!! So now I just have to fill out this paperwork and fork over a butt load of cash and then I'll be an attorney!!!

Anyhoo,back to the clapotis. This will be my October project. At first I wasn't sure if I would be able to hold off finishing it until October but I haven't knitting on it since Tuesday and I think the rest of the pattern will take more than three days for me to finish. I modified by purling the dropped sts and adding an additional increase repeat. I just finished the first repeat and dropped stich of section 3. So dropped stitches will be my new thing for October!!!! I love this pattern and will most definitely make another!!!

beaded September project... in progress

it will be touch and go as to whether I finish...I'm through about 1/4 of the pattern now (15" - 45" or so to go). Really liking it so far, though - although pushing the beads along is a bit of a hassle (River Rock scarf from NSFY...)

For more info, see the blog, post dated 24 September (the length has doubled since then).

Also: a wee plug for another unofficial "Do Something New" for September: set up a cohosted foodie blog with a friend. If interested, check it out: Legal Eagles Who Lunch. We'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

September project on the needles

I have finally started on my September project. My project was to knit something with pre yarn. A shawl is on the needles.
Someone asked what a pre yarn is. It`s when the wool is at a stage between carding and spinning. The pre yarn can be used for knitting or decorative felting. I´t can be knitted alone or together with spun yarn. The pre yarn is very very soft, and I love it. There is probably another word for it in English. Please tell me which one. Now I have to hurry to get done before september 30.
Good luck with your projects everyone.

Wisp Progress

I'm about half finished. A pretty fast knit, though, considering how busy I've been.

Socks for September

My original plan had been to knit a baby blanket for September but with a sudden baby boom around here there was no way this was going to be a possibility as I knew this was certainly going to be a month-long project (or possibly longer!). So I had to switch gears a bit and look over my ever growing list to see what other never-been-done-before project would be a good likelihood in my shrinking spare time. Socks? Yep! Socks it would be...

The obligatory "in progress shot" of the Cozy House Socks from the One Skein Wonder book edited by Judith Durant. These socks are truly perfect for a beginner and while I didn't have the yarn the pattern required, I substituted a Knit Picks yarn from my stash that worked out just perfectly. The pattern stated that the socks could be completed in a weekend and it really is true!

These are more like slipper socks but do fit comfortably in my beloved better-than-UGG boots as well as another pair that I wear to death. They are slightly cushy and toasty warm but because of the bulk of the heavy-worsted yarn, the toe area it a bit bunchy so I decided to make another pair with a slight modification in a different colourway and then a third in an altogether different yarn with several modifications to the pattern. I love the third pair the best and could live in them if the weather would just cool off! (See them all here.)

My September project is finished too!!

Everyone is now expecting a photo of a Clapotis, BUT - tatarartaaaa!!! Fooled you! I have knitted gloves for the first time in my life and this is my September project;
And we silently forget the Clapotis for a while.... No - it will not be an UFO, I have learned something new on Ravelry - it is a sleeping project - ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz......

September Project Finished

I felted the sushi wallet yesterday and it was dry this afternoon. I am shocked that the zipper included with the kit actually fits after felting.
The pictures are of my 12 lb jack russell terrorist modeling the pre-felted pouch and a huge Noni bag that I was afraid to do anything with. There was good reason. I love the stripes but after felting this bag, it is still ginormous. I don't know what I am going to do with it.
I started my Christmas stocking this morning and can't wait to see how it turns out. It is in Noro Kureyon and I love the self-striping colors.

GIMME AN S!

I used the Kitchener stitch to complete this pair of socks. That is the first time I have ever used that stitch. This picture doesn't show that very well, but these socks are not for me so I do not want to put them on my feet.

My September project was going to be lace, but that didn't go so well. You can see the details of that on my blog.

blast from the past...

also known as "Do Something New for April 2006" (under the category of knitted underwear). I came across this and thought you guys might get a laugh:



A saltire g-string for my proud Scot DH. He never wore it, though. I wonder why?

If anyone wants instructions, feel free to E me or drop a post on my blog... you could have it started and finished on 1 October! ;-)

Kristina

Finally starting my first project!!

I have been lurking this knitalong ever since it started. I guess it's time for me to step up an make a contribution.

So, I've been knitting a long time and have always avoided novelty yarns like the plauge. (Yet, I still keep buying them whenever they are on clearance because they are so soft and fluffy!) Why have I been avoiding them then? Well, furry ones in particular have this little tiny thread that you knit with and then all these crazy eyelashes sticking out obstructing your work and it gives me a headache.

Therefore, my do-something-new project for the month will be to knit with novelty yarn. I'm going to make the princess snowball cat bed from stitch and bitch. I don't know if I'll make it for September, but that's my goal! Wish me luck!!

September Project

I really haven't been posted my list of projects, as I never know what is going to go on the needles. For September is has been a center-out square shawl with a knitted on border, all new skills for me. :) I have been using Red Heart acrylic yarn in the "Beach" colorway with white accents stripes and for the knitted on border. I am working on the third side of the shawl doing the border, so hopefully I can get it done by the end of the month.

September Project completed!!!

I am soo happy that this project is done! I really enjoyed the pattern. If I ever do it again, I will most definitely not use this yarn. I think it was probably too bulky for this pattern or maybe the needles. I will know better next time.

The scarf measures in at 3ft 7in and about 8 in wide.

Now the question is what to do with the scarf?!

:)

New to blog

Hi All,
For my opening act I am going to be working on the Sushi Wallet by Pick Up Sticks. I have chosen the Sushi Stripe because it has less finishing and fewer pieces to felt. I have never successfully felted and my GF wants a striped Christmas stocking so this is the perfect project to practice on!

For my next trick..

Early in the summer, I promised my husband I would make him a hat, hunter orange, for hunting season. I finally acquired the orange yarn from Fresh Isle Fibers in Canada. The only other yarn I found that was Hunter Orange was an acryllic and I was really looking for wool. This stuff s 100% Suffolk Wool, which was sort of scratchy, but it's washable and dryable so that may soften it up some. Hubby doesn't seem to mind the scratchy. The pattern is the 4-hat, 2-needle pattern from Knitspot. Though you can see I took some liberties with the pattern. For starters, it's designed to be knit flat on two needles and then sewn together. I did the crown that way, and then switched to working in the round, I also didn't follow the pattern down the sides.. I just needed a pattern to get the top started, and to figure out the placement of the ear flaps. (he had to have ear flaps)

I had to rip back and change the sides of it because it was just turning into a big floppy sun hat, which is NOT what he was hoping for. But since his hunting season is pretty much upon us, I decided this was going to be the September project. And surprisingly, I finished it up this weekend. Amazing how when your 5-year-0ld is home sick from school, you can accomplish a TON of knitting while sitting on the couch and watching cartoons.

Anyway, here is how it turned out. :) Another picture or two on my blog. I'm stunned really, only halfway through September and already done. woo! Guess maybe I can start something more complicated for October? Or maybe try some of those funky socks... Decisions...

Some progress on my September project

My Clapotis is growing and the first stitches are dropped!! The first drop was thrilling, and for each time I do it I check 100 times that it is the right stitch! So far it is looking kind of strange I think, but I hope for the best, and rely on the blocking!
A question for you all; Do you know the word maby??? I do, but my dictionary don't.... So I think maby I will change to maybe - is that more easy to understand? So to all of you that have seen the word (and will see it in the future, bad habit is not easy to change...) just think of the word maybe and then you get it right!!!
We have in these days a big discussion in a Norwegian knitting forum whether to have a mulitilanguage blog (Norwegian/English) when the English are not fluid... Many people means that it just looks silly and don't do it because they will have a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes.... I think - don't be so pompous - just do it and make a lot of foreign friends! It is fun!!
You are all capable to ask if you don't understand me - aren't you? Yes, I am sure you are!!!

can I change my September project?

Please please pretty please...! ;-)

I don't know if there's a rule against it or not. I had originally planned learning to knit cables without a cable needle as my September project... largely because another project I want to do is knitting with beads but I didn't think the beads would get delivered to me so soon.

So - today they arrived from Earthfaire:

(shown together with Handmaiden Silken - 1 skein peridot, 1 skein pewter) and with this loot I would like to endeavour the River Rock Scarf by Sivia Harding in the No Sheep for You book (the linked photo by Marianne on the NSFY KAL convinced me to go for beads).

Any objections? :-)

** edited to fix bad bad link. ;-)

I got the booty!

I got my prize package in the mail on Saturday...Thanks Tina!

My First Spun in the Grease!

My first yarn spun in the grease and washed after plied. It is actually easier to spin oober fine lace weight yarn this way as the grease creates some grip and the yarn is not ripped from my grip. I have avoided spinning in the grease for the longest time. I got impatient at waiting for my newly acquired fleece stash from the annual Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival to dry after washing it, so I decided to give it a try. What did I have to lose? Nothin apparently! HA! This will be knit into my gauge swatch for the Secret of the Stole KAL. The wool is a Targee X Salish and I blended in some tencile. The tencile looks a lot like silk does, but it is 10x easier to work with. Sweet!!

Change of Plans

I'm making Wisp as my first lace project, instead of the star blanket as my first blanket. The yarn I had planned on using for the blanket does not look good as a blanket, and I have no yarn money currently! Wisp seems like an easy knit, so I should have it done for my September S! =]

September project is selected...

I've decided that my September DSN project is going to be dying yarn. Specifically, I am going to dye with Kool-Aid. I already have the materials; some of the first yarn I ever bought (and the first good yarn I ever bought) was cream-colored DK-weight baby alpaca for a hat. The hat came out gigantic because I didn't gauge swatch (I learned that lesson really early-- and dramatically, because the hat was big enough to fit Buckwheat.) Anyway, I frogged the yarn and I thought it would be fun to dye it with grape Kool-Aid and knit it into something else.
So I bought some Kool-Aid, wound the yarn into hanks, and there it has been sitting-- for over three years now. I guess it's about time to try the Kool-Aid dying, especially since now I would be kind of skeptical about drinking the Kool-Aid.
Because I have so many other projects to get done right now, including one for pay, I picked this challenge specifically so it would be new, but quick. I don't have to knit the yarn up this month, just dye it. I'm planning on doing it this weekend so I can get ahead of the game.

My newest project: Kimono Cardigan Wrap

Row 98 of 147, 17 inches of 21.

WHEW! One week in...I think this is great progress!

I am gonna need to spin up some more yarn. I am half way through my second skein already! Check out the variegation! I love making my own yarns!!

September project begun!!!

I began my September project yesterday and I am loving it. I am on my second pattern repeat. It's my first lace project. The Diagonal Lace Scarf by midnight purls. I don't want the scarf to be longer than four feet. So far so good, I think, It doesn't look exactly like the pics I have seen of the scarf but I like it anyway!

1 down, 1 to go!!! =)

Have a great week!!! Kisses!!! =)

The August Prize

And the winner is . . . . Amy C!! Congratulations! Amy, if you could e-mail me your address, I'll get the prize package in the mail to you in the morning!

Now, let's get started on those September 'S's!!

18 'A's for August!

I'm really impressed! I just counted and found that we have 18 completed projects. I've had so much fun seeing what everyone else is doing, and I've learned some things from reading other people's posts.

Here are the names of everyone who earned an 'A', so please check and make sure your name is included if it is supposed to be. I will be drawing for the prize this evening. (My name is listed below but will obviously not be in the prize drawing. Wouldn't be fun to give myself a prize, now would it! ) Also, I retyped the Participants List in the sidebar in HTML so the emails would show up correctly - the regular widget thingies made them show up wrong, but now it is fixed - so if everyone could check and make sure your info is correct there, I'd appreciate it.

Amy C (Knit and Fall Back in it)

Angel

Betty

C4G (Crow Calling Woman)

Chelle

Claudia

Crafting Casualty

HobbyGasa

Jaye

Kristina

Natalie (Stitch-ay Woman)

Paula

Samantha

Shalanda

Shelley H

Tina M

Tina in Wonderland (That's me!)

Tracy

My August Project is Done!

For my August project I decided to finally design a MutiDirectional Sock using Iris Schreier's MD method. This is something I have been thinking about doing for two years now but never got around to it. This is my first attempt at designing a pattern. I wasn't sure how to present this so I took pictures of the various parts of the sock design. I will be doing the full scale model for my September project. Here is the leg of the sock using triangles to transition from the ribbing to the diamonds.

The reason I love Iris' MD method is the stitches are not bound off so there is no picking up stitches and no tails to weave in at the end. This shows the detail in the gusset area of the sock which was a challenge for me to come up with a way to do MD knitting on the sides while working the bottom of the foot.

My last picture is of the final MD Round leading into the toe decreases.Well there you have it my August project completed. I'm new to all this so I'm sorry for it being so long and picture intensive.

Tina M